How To Dressage

Main Menu

  • Home
  • About Us
  • Article Categories
    • The Scales of Training
    • Dressage Theory
    • For The Rider
    • The Horse’s Paces
    • Dressage Movements
    • Dressage Competition
    • Horse Care
    • Dressage Troubleshooting
    • Interviews with GP Riders
  • Our Book Range
  • Our Podcast
  • FREE STUFF!

logo

How To Dressage

  • Home
  • About Us
  • Article Categories
    • The Scales of Training
    • Dressage Theory
    • For The Rider
    • The Horse’s Paces
    • Dressage Movements
    • Dressage Competition
    • Horse Care
    • Dressage Troubleshooting
    • Interviews with GP Riders
  • Our Book Range
  • Our Podcast
  • FREE STUFF!
The Horse's Paces
Home›The Horse's Paces›How to Ride Collected Canter

How to Ride Collected Canter

By How To Dressage
May 2, 2018
5629
0
How to Ride Collected Canter dressage


You’ve achieved some success in your dressage tests, and now you are ready to move up a level. You read your first test sheet preparatory to a trial run and you notice it calls for collected canter.

What exactly is ‘collected’ canter, and how do you ride it?

Read on to find out.

What is a collected canter?

Collection refers to differences in:

  • Stride length (shorter)
  • Stride height (taller)
  • Overall balance – with more weight clearly distributed to the hindquarters rather than the shoulders
  • A shorter, taller outline as a result of the above change in weight distribution (i.e., not because you’ve just shortened the reins and pulled the neck higher).

Before you start to panic, please understand this about collection in a dressage test – the degree of collection required at a specific level is only so much as to be able to perform the required movement with ease.

So at the lower levels when collection is first introduced, that’s not much.

All the judge is looking for is that the horse can bring his weight enough off his shoulders to be able to, for example, perform a 10-meter circle without struggling, or make a downward transition from canter to walk (as in a simple change) without pitching forward and putting all his weight onto either his front feet or the reins.

As you progress further up the levels, you should be able to produce a little more collection – enough to show movements like shoulder in, half pass, and travers with reasonable ease and engagement.

The higher the level, the higher the degree of collection required, until at the top levels you have enough to produce, for example, a canter pirouette in balance and with visible ease.

So DO NOT try to cram your horse together between stronger hands and legs to find shorter steps – that’s NOT what collection is about; it is the gradual development of the ability and strength to carry more weight behind and less on the shoulders, with the above differences as a consequence of collection, and not the other way around.

How do I ride collected canter?

Before you can attempt to collect your horse’s canter, you need some pre-requisites firmly in place:

  1. He must be working correctly over a rounded and supple top line with
  2. A genuine acceptance of the contact and
  3. An understanding of the half-halt

He must also be:

  • Physically strong enough in his musculature
  • Mentally relaxed and attentive
  • Responsive to your aids
  • Already working in a reasonable balance

When you have these components in place, it is simply a matter of strengthening him further and teaching him to accept a new balance, by working on smaller patterns (like 10-meter circles), counter canter, and direct transitions, and using half-halts to suggest he stays up off his shoulders while you perform them.

Do not artificially raise his head and neck – that will have the opposite effect (dropping his withers) – but simply keep his front end where it is and ask his hind end (with your driving aids) to step more under, without allowing his frame to lengthen.

Then, when you travel forward out of the movement, again, suggest to him that he remains in that same, new, balance, by not allowing his front end to drop down, and supporting his stepping under behind with your driving aids.

Note on driving aids – Remember that your legs create impulsion (activity and stepping under) while your SEAT determines the length of stride. So to find collection, you need to be using quick (not strong) leg aids, to keep his hind legs stepping briskly forward under, but a SMALL seat action (to keep the stride length small), so he does not misinterpret your drive as an instruction to go forward into medium or extended strides.

In conclusion

Collection should be thought of as a rebalancing of the weight carriage towards the haunches, and NOT as a shortening of the stride.

The shorter, higher steps of collection are the RESULT of that re-balancing.

Shortening the strides artificially will result in stiffening and loss of activity, which is exactly what the judges do not want to see.

Related Reads: 

  • About the Horse’s Canter Gait
  • How to Develop Your Horse’s Engagement in the Canter
  • How to Ride a Simple Change
  • How to Develop Self-Carriage

Previous Article

How to Ride a Good Trot-Canter Transition

Next Article

How to Ride a Walk Pirouette

How To Dressage

How To Dressage

We are an information blog breaking down the How To's of dressage. All of our articles are put together by British Dressage judges to help you train your horse correctly, get higher scores and win your next dressage competition.

Related articles More from author

  • how to piaffe dressage
    Dressage MovementsThe Horse's Paces

    How to Piaffe

    December 22, 2020
    By How To Dressage
  • How to Ride Counter Canter How to Dressage
    The Horse's Paces

    How to Ride Counter Canter

    March 22, 2018
    By How To Dressage
  • How to Get a Good Rhythm dressage
    The Horse's Paces

    How to Get a Good Rhythm

    March 5, 2020
    By How To Dressage
  • how to dressage ride extended trot
    The Horse's Paces

    How to Ride Extended Trot

    January 3, 2020
    By How To Dressage
  • About the Horse’s Trot Gait in Dressage how to dressage
    The Horse's Paces

    About the Horse’s Trot Gait in Dressage

    February 11, 2018
    By How To Dressage
  • How to Improve the Free Walk on a Long Rein dressage
    The Horse's Paces

    How to Improve the Free Walk on a Long Rein

    February 14, 2018
    By How To Dressage

Leave a reply Cancel reply

0

WANT MORE?

  • Recent

  • Popular

  • Comments

  • troubleshoot dressage problems

    How to Troubleshoot Dressage Problems

    By How To Dressage
    April 13, 2021
  • suppleness of the joints dressage

    How to Improve ‘Suppleness of the Joints’ for Dressage

    By How To Dressage
    April 6, 2021
  • mental suppleness in horse and rider dressage

    How to Improve Mental Suppleness in Both Horse & Rider

    By How To Dressage
    March 30, 2021
  • longitudinal suppleness over the back stretching dressage

    How to Improve Your Horse’s Longitudinal Suppleness

    By How To Dressage
    March 23, 2021
  • how to improve your horse's lateral suppleness dressage bend

    How to Improve Your Horse’s Lateral Suppleness

    By How To Dressage
    March 16, 2021
  • How to Get Your Horse to Track-Up and Overtrack Dressage

    How to Get Your Horse to Track-Up & Overtrack

    By How To Dressage
    March 9, 2021
  • How to Create Cadence in the Dressage Horse

    How to Create Cadence in the Dressage Horse

    By How To Dressage
    March 2, 2021
  • Dressage Training Plan

    How to Structure a Dressage Training Plan for Your Horse

    By How To Dressage
    February 13, 2019
  • how to create the ideal arena surface footing for dressage

    How to Create the Ideal Arena Surface Footing for Dressage

    By How To Dressage
    October 31, 2019
  • How to Import a Dressage Horse

    How to Import a Dressage Horse (from Europe to the U.S.)

    By How To Dressage
    October 19, 2019
  • How to Fit Horse's Noseband

    How to Fit Your Horse’s Noseband

    By How To Dressage
    October 5, 2019
  • How to Safely Ride and Lead horses

    How to Safely Ride and Lead

    By How To Dressage
    March 13, 2019
  • How to Keep a Consistent Rein Contact How to dressage

    How to Keep a Consistent Rein Contact

    By How To Dressage
    June 13, 2018
  • How to Ride a Good Trot-Canter Transition how to dressage

    How to Ride a Good Trot-Canter Transition

    By How To Dressage
    May 1, 2018
  • How To Dressage
    How To Dressage
    on
    April 5, 2021

    How to Ride a 10-Meter Circle

    Hello Amanda, Thank you ...
  • Avatar
    Amanda Harper
    on
    April 4, 2021

    How to Ride a 10-Meter Circle

    I am delighted to ...
  • How To Dressage
    How To Dressage
    on
    March 24, 2021

    How to Develop Your Horse’s Engagement in the Canter

    Hello Sarah, So glad ...
  • How To Dressage
    How To Dressage
    on
    March 24, 2021

    How to Develop Self-Carriage

    Hello Liz, Thank you ...
  • Avatar
    Sarah Houldey
    on
    March 24, 2021

    How to Develop Your Horse’s Engagement in the Canter

    I think your howtodressage ...
  • Avatar
    Liz Steele
    on
    March 23, 2021

    How to Develop Self-Carriage

    How would you begin ...
  • How To Dressage
    How To Dressage
    on
    February 15, 2021

    How to Keep Your Horse Straight

    Thanks so much! :)

Article Categories

  • Dressage Competition (28)
  • Dressage Movements (45)
  • Dressage Theory (53)
  • Dressage Troubleshooting (47)
  • For The Rider (32)
  • Horse Care (39)
  • Interviews with Grand Prix Riders (8)
  • The Horse's Paces (23)
  • The Scales of Training (8)

Free Email Courses

how to dressage newbie email course

how to dressage scales of training email course

how to dressage competition email course

WANT MORE?

Useful Pages

Home
About us
View Our Book Range
Join Our Facebook Group
FREE STUFF!
Contact Us

See our social side

Our Podcast

how to dressage podcast
Copyright © 2018-2021 How To Dressage
Privacy Policy
Disclosure: Please note that some of the links that are included on this website are affiliate links, and at no additional cost to you, we earn a commission if you make a purchase. If you would like to support this website in some way, using these links will help you do exactly that. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. Accept Read More
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled

Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.

Non-necessary

Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.

SAVE & ACCEPT